At school I always wore seemingly endless pairs of “sensible” shoes. As a teenager, I endured hours of lectures about the perils of stilettos, but despite my mum’s best efforts, I still inherited her unglamorous affliction, the dreaded bunion.

It appeared in my 20s – an unflattering bulge on the side of my right foot. I tried to ignore it by squeezing my feet into boots, but once I had my first child, my bunion – like every other part of my body – seemed to spread and I found myself unable to wear anything but runners or thongs.

Bunions don’t stop growing and the only cure for a severe bunion is surgery. But I’d heard horror stories about how the traditional surgery was painful, with a recovery time of at least six months – not an option for a working mum with three kids.

So when I discovered a surgeon who removed them using a new procedure called the minimally invasive technique (MIT), I signed up.

It’s now been 12 weeks since I had the operation on my right foot. Amazingly, I haven’t needed to take one painkiller, I’m back to teaching yoga and able to drive and walk around comfortably.

My foot is still a little swollen but it’s likely to be back to normal within a week or so.

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Foot facts

A bunion is a bony bump on the base joint of the big toe, where it attaches to the foot. Over time, this bony prominence shifts and the toe moves inward towards the second toe. Bunions are caused by a variety of factors: they’re hereditary and can also arise due to the softening of the ligaments in the foot (more common in women). High-heeled, ill-fitting shoes are not the primary cause but there’s no doubt they can make a bunion worse.

At the basic level, a bunion can cause pain and inflammation where it rubs on a shoe. If untreated, it can cause arthritis in the big toe, a gradual crossing over with the second toe and “hammer toe”, where the middle toes bend permanently down. People with a lot of pain can walk awkwardly and this can aggravate the back and knees, and cause other complaints.

A recent Australian study found that a whopping 36 per cent of Aussies have bunions. So what does this new surgery option potentially mean for them?

Orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon Dr Peter Lam says not many people are aware of this new procedure. He’s one of just a handful of surgeons in Australia who are currently carrying out MIT, but he expects it to eventually replace the current technique, as more and more surgeons get trained on it.

Lam learnt the technique in Europe and has treated about 1200 people in the past four years. He says, “The recovery time is quicker and the chance of the bunion growing back is extremely low.”

He explains this is because the procedure enables a greater shift of the bone than the traditional open technique, so allows for greater correction.

It also maintains the mobility of the joint at the base of the big toe, whereas the previous technique can lead to permanent stiffness in that joint.

Two surgeries

Michelle Thacker, 43, was in so much pain from her bunions that she couldn’t walk around the block without her feet throbbing.

The mum of two from Collaroy, NSW, was embarrassed by the sight of her feet and avoided going to the beach and never took her shoes off in public.

She says, “I’d been warned against the operation – [people said] ‘Oh no, you don’t want to have that operation. They put a screw in your toe, you can’t move that toe, you can’t exercise or wear high heels.’”

But as the years passed, the pain increased and at 40, Michelle had her left bunion removed using the traditional surgery. She says, “Initially there was a lot of pain and I remember thinking – what have I done?”

It took several weeks for the pain to fade, she was left with an 8cm scar and it was six months before she could run.

By the time she needed to have her right bunion removed two years later, Lam was using MIT. “This time the recovery was much quicker – a lot less pain post-op, I can barely see a scar and I was able to run after three months,” she says.

“It was a great decision and I’m glad I had it done. I’m not in any pain, happy to go barefoot in public and buying shoes is no longer a chore!”

However, Michelle adds, “Even though the traditional method is more painful, I wouldn’t want to put anyone off from having it done if they don’t have access to someone who does the new technique.”

Traditional surgery vs MIT

Traditional surgery

This involves one long incision and realignment of the toe joint, cutting the bone and moving the tendons and ligaments; screws may be inserted to fix the bone in place.

Minimally invasive surgery

This requires several 3mm incisions. The bones are cut using fine burrs (drills). Once the big toe is realigned to the correct position, screws are inserted. This method involves much less cutting through the soft tissue of the foot, so the results are less painful and recovery time is generally quicker.

Both techniques are considered to be bunion corrections by Medicare, and when carried out by an orthopaedic surgeon, they both have a bulk-billed fee of about $3200 per procedure, however, surgeons may charge an additional fee. The day surgery and anaesthetist fees may be covered by your private health fund.